Knitting needle



Sept. 6, 1932. M. c. MILLER 1,876,259

KNITTING NEEDLE Original Filgd Feb. 26, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l M. C. MILLER KNITTING NEEDLE Sept. 6, 1932.

2 Sheets-Sheet Original Filed Feb. 26, 1929 1 7a IZ Patented Sept. 6, 1932 PATENT OFFICE MAX 0. MILLER, 01 CUMBERLAND, RHODE ISLAND KNITTING NEEDLE Application filed February 26, 1929, Serial No. 342,858. Renewed February 4, 1932.

The invention relates to knitting needles and methods of manipulating the same and more particularly to a mending needle adapted for repairing runs in stockings or other 5 knitted. fabrics, although the invention in certain of its aspects is well adapted for use in a knitting needle used in conjunction with other needles in the knitting of new fabric.

The primary object of the present inven tion is to produce a novel and improved mending needle adapted for use in mending fine gage fabrics "which may be operated rapidly and efliciently by one having little or no experience in this work, and which requires 16 no especial skill for its successful operation.

Difliculties have been encountered in the development of mending needles, particularly when these are intended for use in the repair of fine gage fabrics, to produce a mend- 20 ing needle which can be readily and easily manipulated by the operator without long experience and considerable skill in this type of work.

In the operation of these needles as normally constructed with a swinging latch, the needle is held at an angle both to the fabric and to the wale being repaired to facilitate the manipulation of the swinging latch, as the needle is moved back and forth in the fabric, so that the tip of the open latch will pass under the strand of yarn which is to be picked up without catching additional yarns in the hook of the needle or entangling the latch in the fabric. A great deal of skill and experience are necessary before it is possible to operate one of these needles successfully to pick out a single yarn without tangling the needle hook or latch in the fabric and to cause the latch to open and close at the proper time. I

In carrying out the present invention, a mending needle has been developed which is almost entirely automatic in causing the new strand of yarn to be drawn into the needle hook and the old loop cast off, so that the operator is enabled to advance the needle through the fabric and retract it without the necessity of the delicate handling and high degree of skill ordinarily required in this work.

An important feature of the invention consists in the provision of a yarn guide which overlies the needle hook and is adapted on the advancing stroke of the needle to select or engage the next succeeding strand of yarn in the run between the guide and the needle hook and then on the retracting stroke of the needle to guide the strand into the needle hook. The yarn guide perfectly shields the hook from contact with other strands of the fabric and thus prevents any possibility of tangling the hook in the fabric on the retracting stroke of the needle.

Cooperating with these parts is a hook closing slide or member which is slidably mounted on the shank of the needle and is also shielded from contact with other strands of the fabric by the overlying yarn guide above described. With this arrangement of the parts, the operator in manipulating the needle is required merely to engage the next succeeding strand of yarn in the run between the yarn guide and the needle hook at the beginning of the fabric piercing stroke of the mending needle and then to advance and retract the needle in a substantially vertical direction through the work to take up the stitch.

Another feature of the invention therefore consists in the construction and arrangement of the needle, the hook closing slide and the yarn guide to enable the old needle loop and the new strand of yarn, by merely advancing and retracting the needle through the work, to be controlled and manipulated in such a manner that the new yarn is guided into the needle hook while the old loop is cast off.

The several features of the present invention consist also in the method of manipulating a needle in mending runs in knitted fabrics and in the devices, combinations, and

arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed which together with the advantages to be obtained thereby will be readily understood by one skilled in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of a mending needle embodying the several features of the present invention; Fig. 2 is an end view of the needle taken from the left of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the knitting needle with the hook closing slide in retracted position;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line a-a of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 with the hook closing slide advanced to close the hook of the needle; Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line a-a of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a detail view in side elevation of the yarn guide; Fig. 8 is a detail plan view of the needle; Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the needle shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a detail View in side elevation of the hook closing slide; Fig. 11 is an end view of the hook closing slide taken from the left in Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is a detail plan and side view of the spring for controlling the movement of the hook closing slide; Fig. 13 is a more or less diagrammatic view of a knitted fabric showing a drop stitch or run; Fig. 14 is a crosssectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line b?) of Fig. 3 showing a fabric loop in engagement with the hook closing slide; and Fig. 15 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line 5-6 of Fig. 5 showing the fabric loop lifted from the hook closing slide and passing over the needle hook.

The preferred embodiment of the invention in a mending needle comprises a needle A, a hook closing slide B mounted to slide on. the shank of the needle, a spring C for controlling the movement of the slide, a yarn guide D which fits over the needle and hook closing slide, and a handle into which these parts are fitted indicated at E.

The hooked needle employed with the present construction comprises a substantially cylindrical shank portion indicated generally at A. which is rigidly secured at its rear end to the handle E. Towards the hook end of the needle, the shank is cut down and is provided with two parallel grooved portionsl for the hook closing slide .B, which are formed by two side walls or flanges 17 and a central dividing wall 16. At the point where the grooves 1 reach the cylindrical portion A of the needle shank, the centralwall 16 is cut away so that the slots 1 are merged into a single guiding slot 19 for the hook? closing slide B which is thus permitted to move to an open position some distance up the shank of the needle.

The hook closing member B in cross-section takes the shape of an inverted U which is adapted to run in the grooves 1 and is provided with two forwardly extending flanges 7 which serve to close the hook of the needle and are notched at 9 to engage with the loop of yarn to be cast off over the needle hook. A certain amount of frictional resistance is offered to the movement of the hook closing slide by means of the spring C which is rigidly secured at one end within the slide B by the engagement of a pin F in the slide with a corresponding grooved portion of the spring and at its free end is shaped to provide the cam surfaces 4 and 5 which ride over a pin G fixed in the grooved portion 19 of the needle shank to retard the movement of the slide B from one end of its travel to the other. The surface 5 is shaped to offer a somewhat greater resistance to the slide on its forward or hook closing stroke than is offered by the surface 4 on the return stroke. The movement of the slide B is limited at each end of its travel by stops which are indicated at 2 and 3 in the bottom; of the groove or slideway.

The hook portion of the needle A is shaped to cooperate with the hook closing slide B being provided with a thin tip 6 which extends downwardly between the flanges 12 of I the slide B to a point below the level of the notches 9 and is further provided with two laterally extending flanges 10 which are elevated sufficiently to permit the notched flanges 12 of the slide to pass under them to the hook closing position illustrated in Fig. 5. During the operation of the needle,

the surfaces 6 and 10 of the hook act to lift the loop of yarn held on the notches 9 and spread it so that it is permitted to slip off the end of the needle.

Cooperating with the needle and hook closing slide above described is a tubular shaped yarn guide D which is fitted over the needle A and slide B and is secured rigidly in position on the needle shank by a pin H. Towards the hook end of the needle, the guide D is cut away to form the tip 22 and the nibs or guiding surfaces 21 for forcing a, new strand of yarn into the'needle hook and is further cut away as indicated at 20 in Fig. 7 to permit free play of the strands of yarn between the yarn guide and theneedle shank at this point.

During the Work piercing stroke of the ,mending needle, the loop held on the needle out by the yarn guide D will be forced into the space formed as above described by the cut-away portion 20 of the guide D, the hook closing member B being forced back by the loop to its retracted position as shown in Fig. 3. On the retracting stroke of the mending needle, the new strand of yarn moves toward the tip of the needle and is directed into the needle hook by the guiding surfaces 21 of the needle guide, while the old loop is caught on the notched surfaces 9 of the hook closing slide and acts to move it forward to hook closing position against the pressure of the spring C. On the fabric piercing stroke of the mending needle, the strands of yarn are the needle shank so that the new strand of yarn which is stretched rigidly across the needle is lifted over the notches 9 of the hook closing slide 13 on the retracting stroke of the mending needle to enter the needle hook. At substantially the same point on the needle shank, the side walls 17 are cut away, as shown at 18, so that the old needle loop which conforms closely to the contour of the needle shank will be certain to engage with the notches 9 on the retracting stroke of the mending needle.

In order to operate the mending needle above described as embodying the several features of the present invention, it is desirable to stretch the fabric containing the run over a suitable frame, so that the separate strands are tightly stretched and separated to facilitate the mending operation. The needle A with its hook closing slide held in a retracted or open position by the engagement of the spring C with the pin G is placed in a substantially vertical position over the fabric and the last loop left at the end of the run indicated at 24 in Fig. 13 is caught in the needle hook. The needle is now advanced through the work in such a manner that the bar of yarn which represents the next dropped stitch, as indicated at 26 in Fig. 13, is brought between the tip of the guiding member D and the hook 28 of the needle, as indicated by the arrow at 23 in Fig. 3. As the mending needle is advanced to its foremost position, the bar of yarn 26 and the loop 2A will slide under the nibs 6 of the yarn guiding member and ride up the cam surfaces 15 to clear the notches 9 of the hook closing slide B into the open space formed between the cut-away portion 20 of the yarn guiding member D and the. corresponding surface of the needle shank as indicated in Fig. 3. Due to the taut condition of the fabric on the mending frame, the bar of yarn 26 will tend to extend horizontally across this aperture in a straight line, whereas the loop 24: will tend to conform closely to the contour of the needle shank.

The needle is now retracted or withdrawn through the fabric to cause the bar of yarn 26 to be looped about the needle hook and pulled through the old loop 24 which is cast off over the needle hook. The yarn bar 26 rides over the raised portion 16 of the central flange or wall of the needle shank to clear the yarn notches 9 of the hook closing slide B and, is then deflected by the nibs 21 of the yarn guide member D into the hook of the needle. The yarn loop 24, however, conforming to the contour of the needle shank, iscaught in the notches 9 of the hook closing member B and causes this member to move forward into the position illustrated in Fig. 5 to close the hook. The resistance offered to the movement of the hook closing member by the engagement of the spring F with the stationary by contact with the fiat portions 10 of the hook so that it is entirely freed from the notches 9 and is permitted to slide off the end of the needle hook.

The mending needle is now inserted through the fabric to recover the second stitch of the run; the bar of yarn indicated at 27 in Fig. 13 being made to pass between the tip of the yarn guiding member D and the needle hook. The hook closing slide B is retracted to the position shown in Fig. 3 during this advancing movement of the mending needle by the engagement of the yarn 26 with the end surface 14 of the hook closing slide B as it is forced out of the needle hook through the aperture 13 between the guiding surfaces 11 and 2, as indicated in Fig. 9. From this point, the operation of the mending needle to take up the next stitch of the run is as above described in taking up the previous stitch.

As previously stated, certain features of the invention are not limited to the specific construction above described, but may be applicable to mending needles and to knitting needles more generally. The mending needle herein disclosed, for instance, may be successfullv operated without the use of the guard D.

Obvious advantages both in construction and in mode of operation are secured by the use of the mending needle herein disclosed, whether the needle be intended forhand operation or whether it is operated by power. The movements required in the manipulation of the needle have been reduced to the simplest form, only a substantially vertical fabric piercing and retracting movement being required. In hand operation, the operator is required only to insert the needle in the fabric at the required point in order to insure proper working of the needle to take up the next succeeding drop stitch in the run. With the swinging latch needles usually employed, it has been necessary to insert the needle at an angle to the bars of the run in order to manipulate the latch and also to prevent the fabric from becoming entangled with the various parts of the needle, considerable skill being required to cast off the old loop and place a new strand of yarn in the needle hook, whereas in the present construction, the needle can be held in a substantially vertical position and is advanced and retracted through the fabric without the necessity of further manipulation while maintaining the needle and the fabric relatively stationary in the direction of feed to bring a new strand of yarn into the needle hook and cast off the old loop.

adapted to engage with and east oif a loop over the needle hook on the retracting stroke.

of the needle, and a yarn guiding member for guiding a new strand of yarn into the needle hook adapted to engage with and carry the said strand of yarn between the guide member and the needle hook beyond the hook closing portion of the hook closing member on the fabric-piercing stroke of the needle.

2. A mending needle having, in combina tion, a hooked needle, a hook closing slide, and a yarn guide for guiding a new yarn into the needle hook adapted to engage the said yarn between the guide and the needle hook on the fabric-piercing stroke of the needle.

3. A mending needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing slide constructed to engage with a loop of yarn, a yarn guide for guiding a new yarn into the needle hook adapted to engage the said yarn be tween the guide and the needle on the fabricpiercing stroke of the needle, and means rendered operative on the retracting stroke of the needle to engage the loop with the hook closing slide while the new strand is permitted to pass freely into the needle hook.

4. A mending needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing member mounted to slide on the shank of the needle, and a yarn guide overlying the slide and the needle hook adapted to engage a new yarn between the guide and the needle hook on the fabric-piercing stroke of the mending needle.

5. A mending needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing slide constructed to engage with a loop of yarn on the needle shank, a yarn guide overlying the needle hook and the hook closing slide adapted to engage a new yarn between the guide and the needle hook on the fabric-piercing stroke of the needle, and guiding surfaces formed on the needle shank for causing the loop of yarn to engage the hook elosingslide and for causing the new yarn to pass over said slide into the needle hook.

6. A mending needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing member adapted to slide on the needle shank, a guide member overlying the slide and the needle hook adapted to engage a new yarn between the guide and the needle hook in the fabric piercing stroke of the mending needle, and spring means for retarding the movement of the slide.

7. A mending needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing slide notched to engage with a loop of yarn, a yarn guide overlying the slide and the needle hook for guiding a new yarn into the needle hook, and adapted to engage the said yarn between the guide and the needle on the fabric-piercing stroke of the needle, and guiding surfaces formed on the needle shank for passing the new yarn and the yarn loop over the notched portion of the hook closing slide on the fabric-piercing stroke of the needle and for engaging the loop with the said notches on the retracting stroke of the needle to cast off the loop over the needle hook.

8. A mending needle having, in combina tion, a hooked needle, hook closing slide notched to engage with a loop of yarn, a yarn guide overlying the slide and the needle hook adapted to engage a new yarn between the guide and the hook on the fabric-piercing stroke of the needle, surfaces formed on the guide for guiding the said yarn into the needle hook on the retracting stroke of the needle, a surface formed on the needle shank for enabling the said yarn to pass freely over the notched portion of the slide in its retracted position, and surfaces formed on the needle shank to permit the engagement of a loop of yarn onthe needle shank with the notched portion of the hook closing slide to cause said loop to be cast over the needle hook.

9. A mending needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing slide notched to engage with a loop of yarn, means for retarding the movement of the slide to hook closing position, a yarn guide overlying the slide and the needle hook adapted to engage a new yarn between the guide and the hook on the fabric-piercing stroke of the needle, surfaces on the guide for guiding the said yarn into the needle hook on the retracting stroke of the needle, central and side walls on the needle shank forming a guideway for the slide, a raised surface on the central wall for enabling the new yarn to move freely over the notched portion of the slide in its retracted position, and surfaces formed on the side walls to enable a loop of yarn on the needle shank to engage the notched portion of the slide to cause the said loop to be cast over the hook on the retracting stroke of the needle.

10. A mending needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing slide comprising two notched bars adapted to close the needle hook, a tip on the hook extending below the level of the notches to lift a loop off the notches, and laterally extending flanges on the hook for expanding the loop.

11. A knitting needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing slide notched to engage with a loop on the shank of the needle to close the hook, and lateral flanges on the needle hook to disengage the loop from the notched slide to cast the loop off over the needle hook.

12. A knitting needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing slide comprising two notched bars adapted to close the needle hook, a tip on the hook extending between the bars below the level of the notches to lift a loop of the notches, and laterally extending flanges on the hook for expanding the loop.

13. A knitting needle having, in combination, a hook closing slide notched to engage with a loop on the needle shank, a tip on the hook extending below the level of the notched portion of the slide to lift a loop off the slide, and laterally extending flanges on the hook for expanding the loop.

14. A knitting needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing slide notched to engage with a loop on the needle shank to close the hook, a raised portion on the needle shank to cause a new yarn to ride over the notched portion of the slide into the hook, and a tip on the hook extending below the level of the notched portion of the slide to cause the loop to be cast off over the needle hook.

15. A knitting needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing slide notched to engage with a loop of yarn, and guiding surfaces formed on the needle shank for passing the new yarn and the loop of yarn over the notched portion of the hook closing slide on the fabric-piercing stroke of the needle and for engaging the loop With the said notches on the retracting stroke of the needle to cast off the loop over the needle hook. p

16. A knitting needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing slide notched to engage with a loop of yarn, means for retarding the movement of the slide to hook closing position, central and side walls on the needle shank forming a guideway for the slide, a raised surface on the central wall for enabling the yarn to move freely over the notched portion of the slide in its retracted position, and surfaces formed on the side walls to enable a loop of yarn on the needle shank to engage the notched portion of the slide to cast the said loop 0E over the hook on the retracting stroke of the needle.

17. A knitting needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing slide notched to engage with a loop of yarn, adapted to be moved to hook closing position by the engagement of the loop with the notched portion of the slide on the retracting stroke of the needle and adapted to be moved to open position by a loop in the hook on the advancing stroke of the needle, means for retarding the movements of the slide in either direction, a surface on the shank of the needle for moving the yarns past the notched portion of the slide on the advancing stroke of the needle, and a surface for causing the new bar of yarn to ride over the notched portion of the slide on the retracting stroke of the needle.

18. A knitting needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing slide adapted to be moved to open position by a needle, and means for causing a new strand of yarn having contact with the needle shank to be passed over said slide into the needle hook in advance of the closing of the hook.

19. A knitting needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing slide notched to engage with a'loop of yarn adapted to be moved to open position by a loop in the hook on the advancing stroke of the needle and adapted to be moved to hook closing position on the retracting stroke of the needle by the engagement of the said loop with the notched portion of the needle, a surface on the needle shank for causing the yarns to pass over the slide on the advancing stroke of the needle" and a surface for causing the new bar of yarn to pass over the hook portion of the slide into the needle hook on the retracting stroke of the needle.

20. A knitting needle having, in combination, a hook closing slide notched to engage with a loop on the needle shank, and a tip on the hook extending-below the level of the notched portion of the slide to lift a loop out of the notch in the slide.

21. A knitting needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing member actuated by a loop to open and close the hook, and means acting during the retracting stroke of the needle to guide a new strand of yarn having contactwith the needle shank over said member into the needle hook in advance of the closing of the hook.

22. A'knitting needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a hook closing slide comprising two notched bars adapted to close the needle hook, and a tip on the hook extending between the bars below the level of the notches to lift a loop off the notches.

23. A knitting needle having, in combination, a hook needle, a hook closing slide notched to engage with a loop on the needle I to close the hook, and means cooperating with the slide to disengage the loop from the notched slide to permit the loop to be cast off over the needle hook.

24. A method of mending runs in knitted fabric which consists in moving a hooked needle down through the fabric and up again, and during such movements engaging a new bar of the run in the needle hook to form a new loop while maintaining the needle and fabric relatively stationary in the direction of feed with the needle in a plane substantially perpendicular to the bars of the run, and thereafter casting off the old loo 2%. A method of mending runs in knitted fabric which consists in moving a hooked needle down through the fabric and up again, and during such movements engaging a new bar of the run in the needle hook to form a new loop while maintaining the needle and the fabric relatively stationary in the direction of feed with the needle in a osition substantially perpendicular to the abric, and thereafter casting ofi the old loop.

26. A method of mending runs in knitted fabric which consists in utilizing a mending needle provided with means for engaging a new strand of yarn on the fabric piercing stroke, in imparting a fabric piercing and retracting stroke to the needle, and in manipulating the needle on the down stroke to engage the next strand of yarn.

27. A mending needle having, in combination, a hooked needle, a latch actuated to close the hook by a loop of yarn held on the needle shank during relative movement of the loop along the shank towards the hook end of the needle, and means for causing a bar of yarn having contact-with the needle shank to pass over the latch into the hook during relative movement of the said bar of yarn along the needle shank towards the hook on the retracting stroke of the needle.

28. Amending needle having, in combination, a hooked needle adapted during the advancing movement of the needle through the work to position a loop and an additional bar of yarn on the needle shank above the latch, and cam surfaces formed integral with the needle shank for causing the bar of yarn to pass over the latch into the hook during the retracting movement of the needle and to cause the loop of yarn to engage with and close the latch to permit the loop to slide 011' the needle hook.

29. A mending needle including a hook sliding latch, a guard overlying the needle hook adapted to receive the loop held on the hook and the next succeeding yarn of the run between the guard and the needle shank above the hook closing portion of the latch, the parts being arranged to cause the loop to be cast 0E over the hook and the new yarn to be directed into the hook on the retracting stroke of the needle.

In testimony whereof l have signed my name to this specification.

- MAX 0. MILLER. 

